Anti-Bullying Summit

Bullying is violently affecting many students in our schools – some via murder, some via suicide. Many more drop out early and fail to aspire for, much less reach, their potential because their schools and communities are not safe. Bullying can take many forms, but there are some forms that tend to be pervasive and about which many educators seem uncomfortable – especially those surrounding gender and sexuality.

In the interest of developing locally workable solutions to the problem of bullying based upon research and best practices, Julia Balén organized a day-long summit of local education and religious leaders to think creatively together about how best to make our community a safe space for all children.

Students from her Intro to LGBT Studies class studied bullying in all forms from a variety of angles, including studies on best practices, and developed presentations that offered the material for discussion at this facilitated community discussion.